Cleopatra Had a Jazz Band: 20th Century Egyptomania

The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 launched a phase of intense Egyptomania. But the story of American fascination with ancient Egypt goes much further, from public mummy unwrappings in 1850 to one of the first jazz records in 1917. In this lecture, Egyptologist and vintage fashion aficionada Dr. Colleen Darnell explores the hidden history of our enduring interest ancient Egypt. 

Darnell currently teaches art history in Connecticut and is the former Marilyn M. and William K. Simpson Associate Professor of Egyptology at Yale University. She combines her enthusiasm for Egyptology and vintage fashion on her popular Instagram account, @vintage_egyptologist. Her most recent book, The Ancient Egyptian Netherworld Books (co-authored with John Darnell), is the first complete English translation of the hieroglyphic texts in the Valley of the Kings. In 2013 she curated a museum exhibition entitled Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharaohs, which traced 3,000 years of Egyptomania in art and culture.